San Francisco's Veterans Affairs Council, the city advisory body formerly known as the Veterans Affairs Commission, holds its October meeting at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Room 416 of City Hall, according to the city's meeting notice.
The council advises the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors on matters that affect the city's veterans, including employment, finances, health, housing and social services, according to its page on the city website. Members of the public can comment at its meetings.
A new name
The change is spelled out on the council's page, which notes that meetings held before Monday, June 29, 2026, took place while the body was still titled the Veterans Affairs Commission. The city's old commission web address redirects to the council page, and the council's about page says its bylaws were updated in 2026.
The city's notice for the October meeting still uses the commission name in places. The latest annual report posted on the about page is from 2022.
Who serves on the council
Twelve of the council's 13 seats are for veterans who live in San Francisco. The remaining seat is reserved for the spouse, domestic partner, widow or widower of a veteran. The Board of Supervisors appoints nine members and the Mayor appoints four.
William Barnickel, who holds a mayoral seat, serves as president, and Hanley Chan, who holds a Board of Supervisors seat, is vice president. The council page lists eight other members: Joseph Baba, Channie Barker, James Boatman, Deborah Dacumos, Aditya Lakshminarayan, Jenny Perez, John Reissenweber and Nicholas Rusanoff.
How to take part
The council's regular schedule is 6:00 PM on the second Tuesday of every month, with no meeting in July, in the same City Hall room. Its last meeting was on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Anyone who cannot attend in person because of a disability can ask for remote access by calling (415) 509-9691 at least five hours before the meeting begins, the city's notice says. The notice is also the place to check for any changes before heading to City Hall.
Issues in the council's areas
One local issue advocates have raised: in an April 2026 post, the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares warned that the city's Veterans Justice Court was expected to lose city funding for its case manager and therapist, and urged the Mayor to keep both roles. Whether the fiscal year 2026-27 budget kept them could not be confirmed as of Friday, October 9, 2026.
Across the county line, San Mateo County has its own advisory body, the Veterans Commission, which was created after a 2014 county assessment of veterans' needs and advises the county Board of Supervisors.
If you go
- When: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 6:00 PM
- Where: Room 416, San Francisco City Hall, 401 Van Ness Avenue
- Public comment: members of the public can comment at council meetings
- Remote access: for people with disabilities, by request at (415) 509-9691 at least five hours ahead
From Saved by the Saddle
Heroes and Horses, Saved by the Saddle's free program for veterans, meets as Coffee and Horsemanship on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, on the ground at Ocean View Stables in Daly City. Veterans of any branch, era or length of service are welcome, Guard and Reserve included, and no horse experience is needed.
Sources: SF.gov, Veterans Affairs Council October meeting notice (accessed Friday, October 9, 2026); SF.gov, Veterans Affairs Council page (accessed Friday, October 9, 2026); SF.gov, Veterans Affairs Council about page (accessed Friday, October 9, 2026); Swords to Plowshares, post on proposed Veterans Justice Court cuts (Monday, April 27, 2026); County of San Mateo Human Services Agency, Veterans Commission meetings page (accessed Friday, October 9, 2026)